Events DC and Bob Geoghan Partner to Present the 2017 Nell and John Wooden Leadership in Coaching Awards Dinner

09/26/2017

WASHINGTON, DC (Sept. 26, 2017) – Events DC, the official convention and sports authority for the District of Columbia, is partnering with Bob Geoghan, founder of the McDonald’s All-American Game and the Capital Classic, to present the 2017 Nell and John Wooden Leadership in Coaching Awards Dinner. The 2017 dinner will honor award recipient and University of North Carolina Head Men’s Basketball Coach, Roy Williams, on October 12 at The Watergate Hotel.

“We are very excited to honor Coach Roy Williams with this prestigious award for his overall achievements in coaching, including winning the 2017 NCAA Championship, and the Wooden Family has enthusiastically endorsed his selection,” said Bob Geoghan, creator of the Nell and John Wooden Leadership in Coaching Award. “I am personally very pleased that Events DC has agreed to partner with me in continuing the tradition and history of the Wooden Legacy that this awards dinner celebrates.”

Roy Williams will be entering his 15th season as head coach for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels and 30th as a college head coach. Coach Williams has achieved great success on the court winning his third NCAA Championship in 2017, appearing in nine Final Fours, earning eight ACC regular-season titles and having been inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, College Basketball Hall of Fame and North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. Even greater is the impact he makes on the lives of the young men he coaches. Throughout his career at UNC, Williams has coached seven players from the DC-Maryland-Virginia area: Melvin Scott (Baltimore, Md.), Marcus Ginyard (Arlington, Va.), Ty Lawson (Clinton, Md.), Kendall Marshall (Dumfries, Va.), James Michael McAdoo (Norfolk, Va.), Nate Britt (Upper Marlboro, Md.), and Kenny Williams (Midlothian, Va.).

The Nell and John Wooden Leadership in Coaching Award, named after legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden and his wife, Nell, was created in 2012 to recognize college basketball coaches who exemplify Wooden’s “Pyramid of Success” teachings both on and off the court. Previous years’ recipients include: former Louisiana State University coach, Dale Brown, Syracuse University coach, Jim Boeheim, Duke University coach, Mike Krzyzewski, and University of Kentucky coach, John Calipari.

“We are excited to work with Bob Geoghan, a grassroots basketball pioneer and local legend, in upholding the Woodens’ legacies by honoring coaches who dedicate their time and energy to youth development,” said Erik A. Moses, senior vice president and managing director of sports, entertainment and special events at Events DC. “Through our support of amateur athletics in the nation’s capital, we’ve seen the positive and lasting impact that coaches can have on the lives of the young athletes entrusted to them. The DMV has a rich tradition of elite high school and collegiate talent and this dinner provides a platform to recognize the coaches who helped our student-athletes achieve greatness.”

The 2017 Nell and John Wooden Leadership in Coaching Awards Dinner will take place Thursday, October 12, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. at The Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC. For the first time, the 2017 event will also recognize DC-area high school and college coaches who demonstrate the “Pyramid of Success” teachings.

Registration for the dinner is $150. Group discounts are available for a full table of ten. For more information and to attend, visit bit.ly/wooden_awards_dinner.

ABOUT EVENTS DC
Events DC, the official convention and sports authority for the District of Columbia, delivers premier event services and flexible venues across the nation’s capital. Leveraging the power of a world-class destination and creating amazing attendee experiences, Events DC generates economic and community benefits through the attraction and promotion of business, athletic, entertainment and cultural activities. Events DC oversees the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, an anchor of the District’s hospitality and tourism economy that generates over $400 million annually in total economic impact, and the historic Carnegie Library at Mt. Vernon Square. Events DC manages the Stadium-Armory campus, which includes Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and surrounding Festival Grounds, the non-military functions of the DC Armory and Maloof Skate Park at RFK Stadium. Events DC also built and now serves as landlord for Nationals Park, the first LEED-certified major professional sports stadium in the United States. The most recent addition is Gateway DC, an innovative and versatile space featuring a covered and open-air pavilion in the center of a 1-acre park, conveniently located in the Congress Heights neighborhood of Washington, DC. For more information, please visit www.eventsdc.com and find us on social media – Facebook (Events DC), Twitter (@TheEventsDC and @TheEventsDC_SED for the Sports, Entertainment and Special Events Division), and Instagram (@EventsDC).

ABOUT BOB GEOGHAN
Bob Geoghan has been an instrumental force in the grassroots and collegiate basketball communities for more than 40 years. In 1977, Geoghan created the McDonald’s All-American Team, recognizing the best high school basketball players in the country and in 1978, established the McDonald’s All-American Boy’s Game, which he expanded in 2003 to include the McDonald’s All-American Girl’s Game. A native Washingtonian, Geoghan began organizing high school basketball games in 1971 between Maryland and Virginia public school all-stars. In 1974, Geoghan established the Capital Classic High School All-Star Game—the longest running high school basketball all-star game in the country—featuring the DMV vs the nation. Intimately involved in the local basketball community over the years, Geoghan founded the Washington Metropolitan Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983 to honor the professional and amateur players who call the greater Washington, DC area home. In 2012, to honor the legacy of his close friend and legendary UCLA basketball coach, John Wooden, Geoghan established the Nell and John Wooden Leadership in Coaching Award that recognizes coaches who have demonstrated successful leadership both on and off the court.